


"I'm A Bit Sad, Robin."

by Greenlips24



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 11:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12630039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Greenlips24/pseuds/Greenlips24
Summary: Sometimes, amid the hurt and confusion, when all is said and done, you just know it's time. Complete.





	"I'm A Bit Sad, Robin."

**Author's Note:**

> This is an expansion on a scene in The Cuckoo's Calling TV drama.

That first day, Strike had seen the massive engagement ring on her finger.

He had seen how she looked at it when she thought no-one would see, or just, when she thought about it. Which was often.

He had been glad of it, as it turned out. That ring.

It was the barrier he needed.

He should erect barriers.

Against ....

Who?

Charlotte? Or Robin?

Or himself.

Charlotte and Robin.

How did those two names suddenly go together?

When had she crept into their equation?

His and Charlotte’s.

And why?

Was it because she was a new face, in the detritus of his life?

Because she was fresh and keen and enthusiastic?

Had he ever been that keen and enthusiastic?

And ... __

__

God damn, no-one should be that happy, he thought, rubbing his hand down his face.

__

He should be thinking of Charlotte; __

____

That’s what had brought him here. 

____

But he had drunk enough now to dull the ache, and he could no longer conjure up her face. 

____

All that was left was the sadness.

____

So, when Robin had appeared before him, as he sat by himself in The Tottenham, drowning sorrows and regrets with his favourite Doom Bar; he was surprised.

____

But mostly, he was touched.

____

It was a new feeling.

____

“You’re a very nice person,” he heard himself say.

____

It had slipped easily from his lips.

____

Perhaps it had not been the first time he had thought it.

____

That was personal, he realised, despite his ever-increasing befuddled brain.

____

She looked at him.

____

“Don’t go anywhere,” she said softly, heading to the bar.

____

“I won’t go anywhere. Cross my heart.”

____

No further. Barriers to be erected.

____

He should, he thought. He should stay Right. Here. No further.

____

So many confusing thoughts were tumbling through his tired mind and he had reached the point where his mouth would soon begin to work independently of his brain.

____

And that would not be good. No sir.

____

He looked up.

____

Robin was standing with her back to him, at the bar now.

____

He suddenly felt the need to explain something.

____

“Actually Robin, I’m a wee bit pissed?”

____

He made to stand. See? He said he wouldn’t go anywhere, and here he was, getting to his feet.

____

Foot. 

____

Damn. 

____

He still had a thin measure of control over his brain but it would soon go and the words would tumble out, and he would regret it in the morning.

____

So many thoughts.

____

Then, it all got a bit much, and he started rambling. The man with the beard was annoying him.

____

Robin was a steady presence at his side. She wanted to get him some food and he gave in, easily now; spent.

____

The sadness was creeping back.

____

_It was time to go._

____

So he had allowed himself to be led. 

____

Because, God knew, he needed a kind face. He needed that honesty. Was it naivety on her part, or just a joy of life that comes from a sapphire and a couple of diamonds; and the promise that gives?

____

He had had joy in his life once. And happiness. But it had become harder and harder to hold on to in light of Charlotte’s increasing dependence on the drama of it all. Because she was dependant, he had come to realise. Not the free spirit he had once thought her in their early days.

____

They had been pulled into the glare of publicity that had surrounded them and she had become erratic; demanding. Then, almost at the same time, her mood would change and she was his Charlotte once more; loving and compliant in her apologies.

____

Until the next time.

____

But he loved her, and so it had become the norm.

____

Their slow, steady dance toward destruction; anything but normal.

____

The norm - until the last time, when she had thrown the ashtray and he had not managed to get out of the way in time. He had become lost in his own recriminations; his own angry voice loud in his ears. He had wanted to stop her but a small part of him that he did not recognize had also wanted to hit back. To reciprocate. Wanted to reach out and take her neck in his large hands and ... 

____

_That_ had scared him. 

____

And in that moment, he had realised something.

____

He had wanted it all to just. stop.

____

_It was time._

____

**End**

____


End file.
